Going back to cones?

[Eastbound&Down]

I've been cone/sulfate free for a little over a year, but I've recently been noticing quite a bit of damage (splits and white dots). My hair isn't long enough to fully self trim and I am not going to a salon, so will cones help me?

If they will, I will gladly go pick some up, whatever is best for my hair. But what products do you use? I haven't bought shampoo in months so I'm kinda intimidated by the shampoo aisle...

[Beckstar]

I like Aussie Moist conditioner (I'm mostly shampoo free) and Jason's Biotin conditioner. The shampoo version of those two brands is good too. Just enough protein and moisture. I like cones and my hair acts better with them.

[julee]

I just went back to cones after being conefree for roughly a year, and so far my hair is happy. Detangling is so much easier and I get less damage from trying to get knots out.

I like Pantene products, their Daily Moisture Renewal line and also the Night Miracle serum for a leave in treatment. For a shampoo I like Garnier Pure Shine, which has sulfates but no cones, I love it for clarifying.

[elsieivy]

Personally I haven't found that cones make much difference on the amount of split ends I get, but it might be worth a try. You can just use a bit on your ends if you don't want to use them all over your hair. I don't use a coney conditioner but I'm very happy with my Desert Essence Coconut Conditioner. I also occasionally use Nature's Gate. (It has too much protein for me to use regularly.)

[Panth]

They might help. Depends how you're getting that damage and whether or not your hair "likes" 'cones. If some of the damage is from tangles, especially ones induced by having static or low-slip hair then you'll probably get actual damage-reduction benefits. Otherwise, you'll probably only get patch-repairing benefits - however, those are not to be sniffed at and can make a real difference, particularly for damaged or easily damaged (e.g. fine) hair.

Of course, you'll want to be wise to your 'cone/cleanser combinations to prevent having to clarify too often. Basically, regular 'cones (e.g. dimethicone) can only be washed off easily by sulphate shampoos and/or shampoos with cocoaminopropyl betaine (a much less harsh non-sulphate cleanser). However, amino-'cones and PEG-'cones won't build up quickly anyway (amino-'cones actively resist building up, PEG-'cones are water-soluble) so those can be used with any cleanser. To make sulphate shampoos less harsh, you can chose the less harsh ones (e.g. SLES, ALS, ALES rather than SLS) and/or dilute the shampoo in water.

[LadyCelestina]

Oh yes they will make the damage a bit shinier and softer until you can cut it off. I like Pantene products.

[starlamelissa]

I use pantene ice shine, shampoo and conditioner most days, finish with a few pumps of cone serum, I believe the one I use is "miracle oil" by garnier fructis.

I sometimes use a moisturizing shampoo by pantene instead of ice shine shampoo, "moisture renewal" .

[lapushka]

They won't fix the damage that's already there, permanently, but they can "mask" the damage perfectly fine. So yes, I'd give 'em a go. I don't use a coney shampoo (seborrheic dermatitis, have to be careful with the scalp) but do have silicones in my conditioner. Herbal Essences Hello Hydration is an amazing conditioner (and detangler).

[Sparklylady82]

I am a wavy and have gone back to cones with my bleach damaged hair it just feels better and makes the grow out more pleasant! I may try come free again someday but my coarse hair really likes the slip it gives. My waves are a bit more relaxed but I like the look so it's a win win for me :-)

[Eastbound&Down]

I used to use Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship back when my hair was about WL and don't remember having any problems so I will probably give the Hello Hydration a go. Thanks ladies, I know it isn't a permanent fix, but maybe it can get me to BSL where I can cut out the damage bit by bit.

[ReneeG]

Awesome thread, I was considering this too to get soe more slip and softness, as my ends aren't split but are rather dry and brittle feeling. Just to get me to the New Year when I plan on cutting 1-2 inches off to rid myself of my most bleach damaged parts while maintaining BSL... Good thing I just ran out of my thick final conditioner! (I CWC my hair with a light condish, sulfate free shampoo, and thick final condish)

[Eastbound&Down]

ReneeG, what shampoo do you use? I'm still leery of sulfates...

[ReneeG]

Eastbound&DownI use Shikai Color Reflect Platinum shampoo because it is sulfate free (although I just realized that it has Amodimethicone in it!!! Never noticed before), and it seems to work pretty well. I did add a little tea tree oil to it though because I had been getting dandruff in one spot in particular, and the tea tree seems to help. I only shampoo roots but guess I'll have to shampoo all of it to clarify regularly with cones coming back in. For clarifying I use Avalon Organics Clarifying Lemon, which uses the acidity of the lemon to clarify instead of sulfates... I'm not sure of how wekl it does clarify for others since it doesnt have the sulfates, but it seems to work really well for my hair! However, the Clarifying Lemon conditioner that goes with it isnt all that great and I have to use something heavier with more slip on my ends.

[Night_Kitten]

Before I discovered the hair-forums and proper hair care, I had plenty of splits, and what helped hide them the best were silicone drops on the ends / lower part of the length (don't remember how they were called, been too long since I bought them last... something with split-repair or some such?)
The silicone coating washes away, so I reapplied after each wash and sometimes applied more between washes...
Every hair reacts differently to cones, but if your hair is OK with cones, definitely worth a try :)

[ExpectoPatronum]

I was cone free for a while and my hair just didn't look good. It's much shinier with cones now. And once I detangle it, it actually STAYS detangled! They don't mask my splits, but they do a great job masking white dots on my hair. My ends look and feel much better now that I'm using cones. (I also find less lint getting stuck to my hair?)

I use Pantene's Beautiful Lengths line, though I'll probably buy the Ice Shine shampoo when I'm out because I don't love cones in my shampoos.

[dottodot]

I also tried going the cone free route after reading in so many threads the benefits of eliminating cones especially in regards to hair texture and wave pattern. However, the splits in my hair were visible, detangling was a nightmare and my waves did look somewhat wavier but that faded off after awhile when the tangles took over. As for something with some more slip, I use SheaMoisture's Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner. I can't live without it. I don't need to use much to get a nice slip. I had to use nearly 1/3 of conditioner while going cone free to help with detangling. Plus, SheaMoisture smells really amazing.

[Majorane]

Can I chime in to whine about this a bit, too? I have been mostly cone-free for three years, and I have no reduction in splits (maybe even an increase) and the only two times my hair felt awesome was 1) when I used a sample of an extremely expensive hair mask (50 bucks for a tub!!!) and when I used my moms shampoo last week. It was something from that Aussie brand, it smelled of bubblegum and was extremely coney and slssy and chemically and .... it was the first time in AGES that my hair was sleek andnshiny and supple and tanglefree and generally awesome again :wail:

I'm rather upset by this! I really want to hop on the conefree slsfree bandwagon but my hair feels so nicer to me, when it's coned and all un-natural :wail: I feel like such a product of the 21st century, choosing cones over sebum..... but if this goes on any longer I doubt I'll ever grow past bsl, with no cones. *sigh*

[ReneeG]

I agree night_kittenl everyone's hair does differently with them. I. Excited to have smooth ends again. Like you expectopatronum I have tons of white dots to mask :(

Dottodot and majorane I think everyone tries to jump on the cone-free train when they find LHC, but some just have to go back! I'll probably be using acid rinses (lemon or ACV) rather than sls to clarify, but cones just make my hair FEEL good

[jupiterinleo]

I'm also seriously considering switching to cones. I actually can't remember how my hair was with them. Back when I used them, I didn't know how to properly care for hair.

I'm really nervous about not liking them, so I'm gonna buy some of those trial/travel-size conditioners that are only a few ounces and go from there. I do know that my hair really loved White Rain conditioners, which have dimethicone in them.

I am, however, definitely buying a serum today for my ends. I get splits so easily; I think they might need the protection of silicones.

[Eastbound&Down]

I love the way my curls come out without the stuff weighing them down, but right now getting some length is more important to me so I'm going to give it a shot again. I never had problems with regular shampoo and conditioner, just figured I would try something different but not worth it, glad I'm not alone.

[Panth]

I agree night_kittenDottodot and majorane I think everyone tries to jump on the cone-free train when they find LHC, but some just have to go back! I'll probably be using acid rinses (lemon or ACV) rather than sls to clarify, but cones just make my hair FEEL good

Totally agree. Some people are so dogmatic about 'cones, such that most new longhairs seem to end up thinking they must be 'cone-free or they'll ruin their hair.

(Also, btw - acid rinses don't clarify. Citric acid rinses at an appropriate concentration can chelate, but no acid rinse clarifies. It's one of those myths/misconceptions.)

[ReneeG]

Totally agree. Some people are so dogmatic about 'cones, such that most new longhairs seem to end up thinking they must be 'cone-free or they'll ruin their hair.

(Also, btw - acid rinses don't clarify. Citric acid rinses at an appropriate concentration can chelate, but no acid rinse clarifies. It's one of those myths/misconceptions.)

So what does clarify? I really dont want to use sls if possible, and have seen lots of "clarifying" products that contain lemon but not sulfate

[jupiterinleo]

So what does clarify? I really dont want to use sls if possible, and have seen lots of "clarifying" products that contain lemon but not sulfate

I'm pretty sure sulfates clarify. A baking soda "wash" works, too. If I'm in serious need of clarifying, I mix dissolved baking soda with my ALS shampoo.

[Athena61]

Sparklelady, which products do you use?

[Eastbound&Down]

Be careful with basking soda though, it can be damaging on some hair.

[Panth]

So what does clarify? I really dont want to use sls if possible, and have seen lots of "clarifying" products that contain lemon but not sulfate


I'm pretty sure sulfates clarify. A baking soda "wash" works, too. If I'm in serious need of clarifying, I mix dissolved baking soda with my ALS shampoo.

Tbh, the only absolute no-nonsense, genuinely-works clarifier that I know of is sulphate-containing (SLS, SLES, ALS or ALES) clarifying shampoos. I suppose cocoamidopropyl betaine-containing shampoos would also work (as that is a non-sulphate cleanser that can remove all 'cones), though the issue there would be finding one with a strong enough concentration of cocoamidopropyl betaine (as clarifying shampoos typically have higher concentrations of cleanser than other shampoos with the same cleanser in) and without any ingredients that might build up (sulphate-free shampoos often having, in my experience, far, far too many plant extracts in).

Personally, I wouldn't use baking soda ever. Firstly, if you add it to a shampoo you'll almost certainly change the shampoo's pH and thus may do strange, unpredictable and possibly negative things to the ingredients. Secondly, as baking soda highly alkaline it will cause irrevocable chemical damage to you hair. Thirdly, if you don't follow it up with an acidic rinse it will leave your scalp in an alkaline condition (when the scalp is naturally acidic), which can risk scalp irritation and/or mucking up your scalp flora. Fourthly, I'm not really that sure it actually removes everything - it'll certainly work well on oils and sebum (giving that "stripped" feeling), but I don't think it'll take off 'cones and other synthetics.

I use Pantene Classic Clarifying shampoo. As I only need to use it once every few months, if that, it's really not an issue that it breaks my sulphate-free routine (even though sulphates make my scalp/forehead scale).

[BrownEyedBeauty]

My hair likes cones. I find when I go without cones my hair ends up dry with static, so cones it is.

[jupiterinleo]

Yikes! Thanks, Panth. Good to know. I haven't used baking soda in over a year, thankfully.

[Panth]

Yikes! Thanks, Panth. Good to know. I haven't used baking soda in over a year, thankfully.

Yeah, it's quite possible to cause serious hair damage with baking soda. Here's a rather extreme example of that (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=119383).

Baking soda is a great low-ingredient, kitchen-cupboard method of washing lots of things -e.g. kitchen surfaces, tea-stained mugs, etc. However, it really wreaks havoc on skin/hair. Not sure why the "all natural" brigade jumped on it as being a superior washing method. I mean ... it's not even as if it's not a synthetic chemical (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate#Production).

[Eastbound&Down]

Used Herbal Essence on friday (my wash day). My hair is still super slippery and I'm not used to it. It won't stay up in a ponytail unless it's super tight, guess I'll have to get used to the softness again. White dots are hidden though so yay!

[ReneeG]

Used Herbal Essence on friday (my wash day). My hair is still super slippery and I'm not used to it. It won't stay up in a ponytail unless it's super tight, guess I'll have to get used to the softness again. White dots are hidden though so yay!

Yay! Glad it is hiding your white dots and you have the slip that you wanted. I did not have a good first experience lol, I used my new supoer coney Loreal Mega Moisture conditioner on my ends while using Shea Moisture CO Wash (cone free) on my roots... yuck! Today my hair looks super greasy and very lank and icky. However, I am starting to think that the Shea Moisture stuff is too heavy for my hair as I have been using in a month and it is still making me greasy, so I dont want to blame it all on the cones yet lol. Will check back in again when I next wash.

[Nadine <3]

My next wash I'm going to use a conditioner with water soluble cones in it. My hair likes it for winter, I use it as a second conditioner after my regular cone free conditioner.